The Hybrids
by PokeSpeBanette
Summary: Red knows about Hybrids, or at least he thinks he does. What will he do when he meets one of the rarest ones out there? Originalshipping, AU.
1. Chapter 1

Renny: I did say I'd make a new fanfic on DA, didn't I?

Red: You did. And you even made a picture for it . . .

Renny: Yep. Now I just gotta find out how to get the picture as the thumbnail on DA, and possibly the cover on . Anyway, some of the PokeSpe characters are Hybrids. This means dogs, cats, wolves, etc.

Green: Why do you always make me the uke? Why not Red?

Renny: 'Cus you seem more like the tsundere uke type. Red's more the I'm-so-happy-and-I-love-you-so-much seme.

Green: Damn you, Renny.

Renny: Lol. Red, disclaimer.

Red: Renny doesn't own pokemon!

Renny: Yep. How many of you read the author notes, by the way? Tell me if you do. On with the show!

**OOOOOO**

**-Forest, Hidden Grotto-**

A loud cry was heard as a baby was born on a cold, winter's night. The mother, tired and hurt from the birth, sighed and held her second child close. She smiled at the tuft of grey-brown hair on the child's head.

The mother looked up as another child came in, young but mature. Her light brown locks were a contrast to her deep auburn ears and tail.

"Mom?" The little girl asked, blinking in the dull light. "Are you . . .?"

"I'm alright." The mother smiled. "Meet your baby brother, Daisy."

The girl, Daisy, grinned and softly clampered up to her mother, cooing at the tiny baby in her arms.

"He's so tiny and cute . . ." She whispered.

"He was born early, of course he'd be small." Another voice giggled. The two looked up as another female, only a little bigger than Daisy, walked through the bushes into the warm den.

"Come now, be nice. He's only a newborn." The mother chuckled.

"A very cute one, I might add." The second female smiled. Her bright blonde hair almost concealed the dog ears that twitched occasionally, always watching for danger. The short, yellow tail moved from side to side as she giggled once more.

The mother smiled and watched as the baby boy wriggled around in her arms, squeaking.

"What's his name, mama?" Daisy asked.

"Oh, I know the perfect one." The mother smiled as the baby boy opened his eyes. "Green."

Bright, forest green eyes sparkled back at her.

**oooo**

**-Five years later-**

"Green, don't go too far!"

"I won't, Miss Yellow!"

The tiny boy, with long, grey-brown hair, dashed off without a second thought. His growing kitten tail flickered behind him, touching the occasional bush or tree. His large, kitten ears twitched in anticipation for the idea of adventure and fun. Yellow, his caretaker, followed closely along with the tiny child's older sister, Daisy.

"You still need to find out who you wish to be mated with, Daisy." Yellow said to the younger, but taller girl.

"I know, but none of the other cats here are even nice. Most only like me because of who papa was." Daisy sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Your father was a good man." Yellow said, solemnly. Green came running back, ears curved backwards in confusion.

"What did he do that was so great?" The tiny cat asked. Yellow smiled at him and picked him up.

"He used to be the leader of our clan, but he was taken away to the stars so he could watch over the world." She smiled.

"Wow, he's a star?" Green squeaked, looking up. "Where is he?"

"You won't see him at the time." Yellow chuckled, putting him down. Daisy giggled beside her. "Wait until night, then I'll show you."

"Ok, Miss Yellow!" Green giggled, running off again.

"You're so good with him." Daisy smiled.

"It comes with the job." Yellow said. "Besides, if I weren't so good with him, your mother would probably be weighed down with him and the clan."

"I know. Sometimes I catch her asleep when she's trying to figure things out, but she wakes right back up and goes straight back to work. I'm worried . . ." Daisy sighed.

"I know, but we need to stay positive." Yellow said. Daisy nodded, and they both looked to where Green ran off to.

"Um, where'd he go?"

"Uh-oh."

The two females dashed off, fearing the worst, but found the tiny kitten looking through a bush that was twice their size.

"Green, come away from there." Daisy whispered. Green looked back at her, blinking.

"There's some others like us other there, but they don't have tails or ears." He said. "What are they?"

"They're called humans." Yellow told him, crouching down and peering through the bush. Daisy went onto his other side and frowned.

"What are they doing here, though?" She murmured. "The humans never come out this far into the forest."

"I'm not sure." Yellow mumbled.

"Can I play with them? They have funny looking animals with them." Green bounced a little. Without warning, he dashed through the bushes before Yellow or Daisy could catch him. The two tumbled out as well, and froze.

All the humans were staring at the trio with wide eyes. One of them pointed and shouted something, but none of the three could understand it.

"What did the human say?" Green asked, looking back at his sister.

"Green, get away from there." Daisy whispered, backing away slowly. "Come on, please."

"Why? They didn't do anything." Green said.

"Green, just run, now!" Yellow cried. The tiny kitten tilted his head, then his ears drooped as one of the humans came up behind the tiny boy. He looked up, and squeaked in fear.

"M-mommy . . ." He murmured. Daisy yelped and dashed forward just as the human bent down with its hand outstretched, and grabbed her baby brother.

She quickly ran back to Yellow and they ran from the humans until they couldn't hear them or even smell them anymore.

Daisy, panting, let her brother down. Yellow rounded on him.

"Green, you shouldn't have done that! You could have gotten yourself killed, or worse! Do you have any idea what those humans could do?" She shouted.

"I-I'm sorry, M-Miss Yellow . . ." Green whimpered. "I-I didn't know . . ."

"Sorry isn't good enough!" Yellow snapped. "What if they'd caught you? What if they'd followed us back? Then where would we all be?"

"Yellow, please, he didn't know." Daisy whispered, crouching down and hugging Green gently. The tiny boy buried his face in her chest, crying.

" . . ." Yellow sighed, and crouched down as well, petting his head softly. "I know, I know . . . I'm sorry for shouting, Green. I was just scared, you see?"

"You were?" Green sniffed, looking up at her with large, wet eyes. "I thought adults didn't get scared . . ."

"Everyone gets scared at some point, even adults." Yellow murmured. She held out her arms and waiting until he'd climbed into them, then rocked him gently. "Today I was scared that those humans would hurt you."

"Why are humans so bad?" Green asked. Daisy sat down next to them.

"Humans are strange creatures." She began. "Papa used to say that they always take our forest away, creating these large, stone things that they live in. I guess the brick things are human dens."

"They also have pets." Yellow took over explaining. "Most humans have animals, like dogs or cats, but some take us instead, because we're part human and part animal. Like you and your sister. You're both cats, and I'm a dog."

"So, if the human had caught me . . . I'd be a pet?" Green said quietly.

"I'm afraid so." Daisy nodded. "Now, you'd think that's a good thing, but really it isn't. Humans have these things that make you obey the human you belong to, and it changes you."

"What is it?"

"A long and bendy stick. It hurts a lot, from what I heard." Yellow said. "But that's enough of that, alright? Humans won't hurt you unless they catch you, so stay away from them at all costs."

"Yes Miss Yellow . . ." Green murmured.

"Oh, come now, I'm not angry." Yellow smiled, cuddling him. The kitten looked up, clutching her with his tiny hands.

"You're not?"

"Of course not!" Yellow cried. "I'd be oblivious if I were to stay angry, you're too cute."

Green blushed and giggled, the previous scare completely forgotten in his child mind.

**oooo**

**-The town, school-**

Red yawned and stretched. His teacher, a nice lady called Miss Misty, was talking about some animals that lived in the forest out back.

"Miss, Miss!" One of the kids in the class called. Red looked over along with the other seven year olds.

"Miss, what are the things that look like humans crossed with animals called?" The kid asked.

"Ah, now those are special creatures." Misty giggled. "We call them Hybrids, because they're a combination of both humans and animals. The most common one to see is a dog Hybrid, while the cat Hybrid is extremely rare."

"Why?" Another kid asked.

"Well, some say that cat Hybrids were forced into extinction by humans, but there are still a few cats left." Misty told them.

"What does extinction mean?" Red asked.

"It means that that species no longer exists." The woman said.

"But if they don't exist, then how come there's some in the forest?" A girl cried, looking out the window.

"That's because the cats there are protected by the nature reserves. Sometimes a group of people will go into the forest to find them and do check-ups, but most of the time the cat runs away." Misty smiled.

"Why do they run?"

"We're not certain, but some say that it's because they're all afraid of us."

"Why would they be?" Red called. "We won't hurt them!"

"They don't know that, though. Humans and Hybrids can't understand each other." Misty said. The woman looked back at the blackboard and wrote something on it.

"But Miss, a friend of mine has a pet Hybrid, a dog one, and he can speak human." A little boy said. "Why?"

"Ah, now Hybrids born and raised in captivity are different from the ones raised in the wild." Misty turned back around and smiled at them. "Hybrids born in captivity are able to speak their native language, Hybran, and also a human language. Mostly English."

"That's so cool!" The same kid cried. "I wanna go and see a wild Hybrid!"

"We will, when I get the papers for you all." Misty chuckled. "Just remember, you need permission from your parents. We'll be staying in the forest for a whole week, looking for the Hybrids, so you'll need things for camping."

"Yes Miss Misty!" The kids chorused. Red grinned. His mom always said that the Hybrid finding trip was one of the best things about school.

**oooo**

**-Red's house-**

Red's best friend, a girl called Blue, was also going on the trip. Blue had brown hair that came down to her shoulders, and bright blue eyes.

"Hey, Red!" She called. "You got the slip thingy?"

"Yeah, mom and dad said I could go." Red grinned, packing his bag. "Now, what do I need? Uh, spare clothes, some food, sleeping bag . . . what else?"

"What about a camera?" Blue said, throwing Red's digital camera over to him.

"Great!" Red exclaimed. He quickly shoved it into the bag and stood, hands on his hips. "Now I'm done."

"Sweet!" Blue grinned. "Hey, you think Gold's going as well?"

"Why would he need to go?" Red asked. "He's got a pet Hybrid dog, doesn't he?"

"Well, yeah, but Silver's no fun." Blue shrugged. "Gold'll wanna see wild Hybrids."

Red nodded, grinning. "Maybe Crystal can come as well?"

"Oh, she's gonna come, definitely." Blue snorted. "She'll take notes on whatever Hybrid we find out there."

"If we find one." Red pointed out. Blue stuck her tongue out at him.

"Kids, you need to get going! The bus is here!" Red's father called.

"Ok!" The two shouted. Red grabbed his bag and watched Blue take hers, then they ran out of his room and down the stairs.

"Now, will you two remember to behave?" Red's mother asked. Red nodded along with Blue. "Good, now go on."

Red cheered and dashed out with Blue at his side. The bus was waiting for them when they got to it, and Red turned back around to wave at his parents one more time. Blue tugged him on and they looked around the bus for some spare seats.

"Guys!" Someone called. Red and Blue looked over and saw Gold waving at them, and beckoning to a couple of empty seats behind him.

"Hey, what's up?" Red grinned, quickly sitting down. Blue sat next to him, and leaned over to see what Crystal, who was sitting next to Gold, was doing.

"The roof." Gold laughed. Red giggled and looked up.

"Oh yeah, so it is." He said. Gold and Red high fived.

"So, you going on the trip?" Gold asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"You know it!" Gold grinned. "Silver's boring anyway, so yeah."

"You have the best reason to go, ever." Red said, smiling. "What's Silver like, anyway? You always talk about him, but we never see him."

"Oh, he's got this bright red hair, like literally red." Gold said, making hand gestures. "Then these weird looking, silvery eyes, and his ears are kinda like a husky, you know? And his tail . . . well, it's real fluffy! Just don't tell him I said that."

"I won't." Red laughed.

"Sweet!"

**oooo**

**-School, front gates-**

"Now then, we'll be going soon, so you'd better be able to keep up, or we'll leave you behind."

Red laughed at the teacher's attempts to scare the kids into following them perfectly.

It would never work, but at least it was funny watching them try.

"You think we can slip away and try and find some Hybrids on our own?" Blue asked quietly.

"No, they'd notice if we were gone." Crystal said, reading her notebook like always.

"Spoilsport." Blue muttered.

"No, I just have common sense."

"Can we go yet?" Gold shouted.

"Wait until everyone's here!" One of the teachers shouted.

**oooo**

**-The forest-**

"Alright, kids!" A man shouted, trying to get the hyper group's attention. "Listen up!"

Red paid close attention. The man was called Brock, an expert on the Hybrids and their habitats.

"We'll be here for a week, so don't complain if you get homesick or something." The man grinned. Red glanced at Blue and snickered.

"There's gonna be four groups, alright? The first will be with me, the second with Blaine, the next with Erika and the last will be with Misty." Brock called. "When I say your name, I'll tell you which teacher you're assigned to."

"I hope we're in the same group." Red whispered to Blue. The girl nodded and perked up when Brock called her name.

"Blue Opal, you're with Blaine."

Blue groaned and walked over to the oldest male, sulking. Red laughed and watcher her look away from Blaine, as he tried to talk to her. The other kids around him snickered.

It wasn't a secret that Blaine was Blue's uncle. Unfortunately that meant Blaine was always trying to win her favour or something.

"Red Hawks, you're with Erika."

"Aw . . ." Red said under his breath. He didn't mind Erika, really, she was a nice lady, but she had a really bad habit of falling asleep in class.

Which was stupid, since that was meant to be the kid's job, not the teacher's.

He walked over to the small group and watched as Gold was put into Misty's, and Crystal into Erika's as well.

"Hey, Crys." Red grinned. The girl looked up from her notebook and nodded, then went straight back to it. "Uh."

"Yes, what is it?" Crystal sighed, glancing back up. Red blinked.

"Well, we're in the same group . . . so . . . Wanna be tent mates?"

"Sure, why not? You're the only sane one here." Crystal smiled a little, looking around the little group surrounding Erika. Red chuckled lightly.

"Probably." He said.

"Ok, we'd better get going now, kids." Erika yawned. The four groups split up and went off in separate directions.

Misty's group went to the east forest, where Red had heard it was darker. Blaine group went to the western forest, where it was damp. Brock's group went off to the northern part, where it was more rocky and closer to the town, but still far away.

That left Erika's group with the southern forest, where it was deeper and more jungle-like, but also a beautiful place, according to his father.

"So, what do you think we'll find?" Red asked. Crystal shrugged and looked around, then went back to her book.

"Probably some Hybrid dogs. I heard there's a clan of them living near where we're heading." She said. Red nodded and looked around again.

"Hey, you get the feeling we're being watched?" He asked a few minutes later.

"Not really, why?" Crystal glanced around.

"Well . . . I just thought we were, that's all. It felt like it . . ." Red murmured.

"Probably your imagination." Crystal told him. "Ignore it and carry on."

Red nodded and sighed, looking ahead at the other kids in the group.

He still thought they were being watched.

**OOOOOO**

Renny: And, there's the first chapter. Hehe.

Red: A trip in the first chapter? You're weird.

Renny: Whatever. Read, review and comment"


	2. Chapter 2

Renny: And now we move onto the second chapter, where Red and Green meet for the first time. Say thanks to RedXGreenFTW who gave me this idea. Not for the whole fanfic, but for the chapter.

Red: You st-

Renny: AH, AH, AH!

Red: . . . Renny doesn't own pokemon, and she st-

Renny: I STOLE NOTHING. ON WITH THE SHOW.

**OOOOOO**

**-A couple of days later, camp-**

"Miss Erika!" One of the kids whined. "We haven't seen a Hybrid for ages!"

"Hush, we'll see one soon enough." The woman yawned. Red wanted to point out she'd said that last time, but someone else beat him to it and started whining again.

Really, he was enjoying the trip, even if he hadn't seen a single Hybrid so far. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that he still thought they were all being watched.

Crystal, as usual, was reading. She wasn't even paying any attention, so Red guessed she'd only come along for the fact that she could get some free reading time.

Book worms.

But she was a good friend, anyway. He giggled a little and decided to explore the forest, but not go too far away from camp. The little crimson eyed boy got up, silently as he could, and grabbed some snacks for later. He stuffed them in his pocket and ran off.

Several minutes later, he was glancing around the trees in awe. The forest was . . . beautiful, as his mother would say. She loved this kind of stuff. Red grinned as he remembered his camera, strapped around his neck. He lifted it up and started taking a few pictures of the forest.

The boy grinned wider when he looked at the pictures. Some were of the dark forest, some had bright rays of light from up above, and a few showed him a tiny dark shape in the bushes.

Wait, what?

Red's eyes widened and he glanced at the picture again. Sure enough, there was a tiny dark shape in the bushes, and a pair of gleaming, green eyes were staring right at him. Feeling scared, the boy looked up at the bushes the picture was taken, and almost whimpered.

The exact same eyes were looking at him. They blinked, slowly, and then moved as if the creature was tilting its head.

Red's mind was running fast. He went through all the animals his little child mind could think of, but nothing came up. He shivered and backed away from the creature. Its eyes seemed to drop slightly.

Was it sad?

"U-um, h-hello?" Red called out to it. The creature moved a little, and the bushes rustled with the sudden change. "M-my name's Red, w-what's yours?"

"Purri?" The creature squeaked. Red breathed out in relief. He knew that sound.

It was part of the Hybrid language, Hybran. And from the sound of the voice, it was only a tiny Hybrid.

Looks like he'd found what he wanted to see. Red stopped shaking and stood slowly, so as not to scare it.

"Hey, come out, little guy . . ." He called softly. The Hybrid blinked and made another sound.

"Come on, come on . . ." Red gestured with his hands, remembering what Misty had said about their languages.

"Pooy?" The Hybrid squealed. Red giggled. That sounded funny.

"Come on, little guy, I won't hurt you . . ." He whispered. The Hybrid made another small sound and slowly stepped out. Red smiled gently and sat down, gently beckoning the tiny creature out.

Once it was out, Red could see its body properly. The poor thing was thin, and only had on a small, ill-fitting pair of trousers made out of . . . leaves, Red guessed. The tiny Hybrid also had grey-brown hair that came down to its waist, and large, kitten-like ears that twitched on occasion. Red giggled when he saw the cute, fluffy tail that swished slightly behind it.

"Puru?" The Hybrid squeaked again. Red smiled, then realised this Hybrid was actually a cat Hybrid. One of the rarest Hybrids, and he'd found one on the first try!

"Hi there." Red smiled. "I'm Red. Can you say it? Red. R-E-D."

"Mayo?" The Hybrid meowed. Red laughed and tried to contain himself.

"No, Red. Red, come on, say it, Red."

"Mreh?"

"Almost. Red. R-E-D."

"Weh?" The Hybrid said. Red giggled a little. He could tell this Hybrid was male, even if it looked more like a little human girl than anything, except for the large ears and the fluffy tail.

"Red."

"Reh."

"Red. Come on, say it for me, Red."

"R . . . Red?" The tiny boy squeaked. Red grinned at him.

"That's it! You did it!" He grinned. "My name's Red, see?"

"Red." Hybrid boy smiled. Then Red heard his stomach growl.

"Oh, are you hungry? Come here, I've got some food." He said, grabbing some of the snacks out of his pocket.

The Hybrid tilted his head and his ears flicked, and suddenly Red was scared he would bolt. He didn't want that at all. The tiny Hybrid was too cute to get scared.

But then the tiny Hybrid started walking towards him, slowly and on all fours, and cautiously. Red held out his hand with the snacks on, and smiled softly.

"That's it. Come on, it's food, you have some." He said. The Hybrid squeaked and neared his hand, then reached up and sniffed it.

"Meo?" He mumbled. Red frowned. That word sounded like 'meal'.

"Uh, yeah, meo." He said, nodding. The Hybrid suddenly grinned and stood, grabbing his hand with two tiny ones. Red smiled and giggled when he started eating from his hand.

"Take some for yourself." He said, once the Hybrid had done. He placed some of the food nearer to himself, then watched the Hybrid poke it. "Um, meo. Pick it up, go on."

"Meo meri?" The Hybrid asked. Red blinked at him, unable to understand the foreign language.

"Um . . . Meo. Pick it up, like this." Red showed the Hybrid how to pick up the snacks, and the Hybrid, funnily enough, copied him perfectly right after.

Red laughed again, which made the tiny Hybrid look up with wide eyes.

"Sorry, you're just so cute." Red grinned. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Purru?" The Hybrid blinked, tilting his head again. Red frowned and tapped his foot a little, thinking.

"Well, you're smaller than me, by a lot, but that would mean that you were about one or something. And if you were one you couldn't talk, so you're older than that. Three is kinda young as well, since you can walk properly and copy me, and four seems the same . . . So, you're five!" He grinned. The Hybrid made another noise and carried on eating the snacks Red had given him. Red reached forward without thinking, and gently stroked the tiny things back. Hybrid boy stiffened, but didn't move away.

Red took that as a sign to carry on. He wasn't eating anyway.

When the tiny Hybrid had finished, he didn't move away from Red like he thought he would. Instead he stayed where he was, purring like an actual cat. Red guessed it was because of the way he was stroking him. He moved his hand from the Hybrids' back and started lightly tickling his chin, like he would a pet cat or something.

The Hybrid purred even louder and when Red moved his hand again, to the top of the tiny Hybrids head, he pushed against Red's hand eagerly.

Red giggled and got his other hand to stroke the Hybrids' back again, smiling brightly. This was more than what he wanted.

He could have just made do with seeing the tiny Hybrid, but giving him food and stroking him? Even better.

"Who's a cutie?" Red cooed. "Who's a cutie? You are, that's who!"

He was right. The tiny Hybrid was extremely cute, even if the clearly showing ribs didn't look cute in any way.

Red had to admit, he liked this little Hybrid. He'd never really met Silver, Gold's pet dog Hybrid, but from what Gold had said Silver was boring and always did as he was told, no matter what, and that sounded really boring. So meeting a Hybrid in the wild, like this, was a really cool experience for him.

Red tried to recall some of the words his mother repeated to him on a regular basis.

'_If you like someone, the best thing you can do is kiss them.'_

That was all he could think of at the moment. He liked the Hybrid, but did he have to kiss him?

His father had said that most people thought kissing boys was strange, but no one really minded it anymore. So would it be strange if he kissed the little Hybrid he was stroking?

The Hybrid mewled happily and suddenly pushed himself onto Red's lap, pressing his tiny hands against Red's chest and purring again. Red smiled and carried on stroking him, then took a deep breath. He leaned forward slowly, a little scared.

The Hybrid, still purring, opened an eye and smiled at him. Red almost lost his nerve. So cute . . .

The boy swallowed and leaned forward again, this time closer to the Hybrids face. The tiny Hybrid tilted his head cutely, both eyes open. He was still purring, but not as loud.

"Red?" He asked, blinking. Red bit his lip and steeled himself, then crashed their lips together. The Hybrid boy squeaked in surprise, then tried to get away, but Red's hands held him back. He could feel the tiny hands gripping his shirt, and he knew for sure the Hybrids' eyes were wide open.

He pulled back, ignoring the heat on his face, and concentrating on the deep red on the Hybrids' own face.

"Um, sorry, my mom said that if you like someone, you kiss them." Red explained. The Hybrid still looked confused. Red puffed his cheeks, wondering how to explain it, when he saw the dirt not too far away. He grinned and gently took the Hybrid off his lap, and crawled over to it. Red gestured the Hybrid over, and after a small hesitation, the tiny thing crawled over as well.

Red thought for a second, and then started drawing pictures that the Hybrid could understand. Once he was done, the boy showed it to the Hybrid.

Hybrid boy blinked at the drawings, then his ears flicked and he turned a bit red again. He looked up at Red, and smiled.

"Liki troo!" He cried. Red grinned. That obviously meant what he thought it did.

"Haha! Wanna play?" Red asked. The Hybrid squeaked, excited, and bounced up and down happily on all fours. Red grinned and awkwardly copied the Hybrids stance, then mock-growled and rushed the tiny thing.

Hybrid boy nimbly jumped out of the way and landed on Red's back, but the seven year old barely felt it. He made himself drop anyway, and laughed.

**oooo**

**-Five days later-**

Red got lots of pictures of the tiny Hybrid, once he somehow explained that the camera wouldn't hurt him. Of course, this involved the dirt drawings and showing Hybrid boy the pictures Red took, but at least everything was understood.

Unfortunately, Red had to go back to town today, so he'd have to explain that to Hybrid boy without making him cry. Red had actually found out it was extremely easy for the poor thing to do so, and had been careful not to make it happen again.

But there was no way of doing so without it.

"Come on, come out!" Red called. For the last time, he thought glumly.

The tiny Hybrid came dashing out a few seconds later, bouncing around him happily. Probably wanting food.

"Ok, ok, here you go." Red smiled, sitting down and hand-feeding the Hybrid again. "Um, hey, I . . . I need to say something." Red sighed.

The Hybrid, still eating, looked up at him. Red was somewhat glad he could sort of understand Red to some extent, but he doubted the Hybrid even knew what he was saying.

Red gave the Hybrid the food, and went over to the dirt again. Hybrid boy followed him as usual, and watched as Red drew again.

"Ok, see if you can understand." Red said, leaning back. Hybrid boy, done eating, flicked his ears and looked at the drawings. Red waited.

Then the Hybrid started wailing loudly. Red cried out and gently shushed the poor thing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you . . ." He murmured, cuddling him.

"Red!" The Hybrid wailed. "Red!"

Red, feeling ill, sighed and looked around. If only there was a way that they could . . . wait a minute!

"Hold on a sec." Red grinned, leaning down and drawing some more pictures in the dirt. Hybrid boy stopped wailing and sniffed as he watched Red with teary eyes.

"Go on." Red urged him when he'd done. The Hybrid buried his face in Red's chest, whimpering. Red's eyes softened. The poor thing probably thought it was more bad news.

"It's ok, it's a plan for us." Red told him. The Hybrid looked up at them, then at the new drawings. "Look at it, go on."

The Hybrid sniffed again and looked at the drawing for a few seconds. Red watched nervously as he tilted his head, blinking slowly.

"Purr." Hybrid boy whispered, smiling again. Red smiled back happily.

He picked up the Hybrid and leaned forward, but this time the Hybrid caught on quicker. The tiny boy closed the distance between them and kissed Red, purring loudly. Red smiled into their little kiss and hugged his friend.

The picture, showing an evening sun and the entrance to the forest near Red's school, was forgotten.

**oooo**

**-A week later, the entrance to the forest-**

Red glanced around to make sure no one was watching. He giggled deviously and dashed out, then crouched down to wait.

After he'd gotten back to Erika and the group, Crystal had asked him where he went. Again. He said the same thing he always did, out looking for Hybrids and other stuff.

Crystal asked him to take a picture of the first Hybrid he saw, so Red agreed, but he wouldn't show Crystal.

The Hybrid boy was his little secret.

And now they were basically playing a game. At the time, Red didn't know how dangerous it was, but in his child mind it was fun to play.

He heard a small rustle and looked up as the little Hybrid crawled into the bushed with him. Red hugged the smaller child tightly and giggled.

"Hi, there!" He whispered. "Wanna play?"

The Hybrid, not understanding, tilted his head slightly. Red made a small motion with his hand, and then the Hybrid grinned and nodded.

Red bounced away from the cat, and hissed playfully when he did the same thing. The both crouched and then jumped.

After a few minutes, Red collapsed onto his back, smiling as the tiny Hybrid flopped gently onto his chest. He giggled again and cuddled him softly.

"So cute . . . I wonder where you live?" Red murmured. He'd never thought of that before. Was he taking the Hybrid away from precious time spent in a home that loved him, or was it that the Hybrid didn't actually have one?

If it was the latter, Red would cry. He hated seeing anything hurt or sad, even lonely. As this thought crossed his mind, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the tiny Hybrid, who squeaked and looked at him, tail swishing happily.

"Miku?" He asked quietly.

"Um, nothing." Red whispered. "It's ok."

The Hybrid blinked. Red made a small motion, and then he nodded. The Hybrid purred and curled up on Red's chest, curling his short tail around Red's wrist.

Red smiled brightly. As long as the Hybrid was happy when he was with Red, he was fine with that.

He sighed. Maybe he could take a nap or something, just for a bit?

**oooo**

**-A few minutes later-**

Green tilted his head again. The human was sleeping, but why? Was he bored?

"Red, Red!" He cried. He liked that name. It was also his first word in human language, so of course he'd like it.

"Red, wake up!"

Unfortunately, that was the only word he knew.

"Can we play? Red, Red!" Green squeaked. "Red . . .?"

Red didn't respond to his calls. Green's ears drooped down and he laid his head back on the larger male's chest again.

Then a sound made him look up. Red said something, sounding a bit concerned, but Green didn't understand it. But Red was awake, so they could play again!

"Red, Red!" Green cheered, grinning. He bounced up and down and purred loudly. Red laughed and patted him on the head.

Green liked it when Red did that. It felt nice. He purred a bit harder and pushed against Red's hand, seeking more of the stroking.

He didn't understand what Red said next, but Green knew it was a nice thing. Red wouldn't say anything bad to him.

Red was his friend.

"Hehe, Red!" Green purred. "Can we play?"

Red said something, and Green blinked, puffing his cheeks up. If only they could understand each other.

"Green, what are you doing with that human?"

Green squeaked loudly and looked up with wide eyes. Yellow gaped at him and quickly tore him away from Red, who sat up and stared at Yellow in shock.

"Green, what's going on here?" Yellow demanded. Green, with his ears down, quietly answered her.

"I-I was playing with him . . ." He mumbled.

"You're not allowed to." Yellow said.

"Well, why not? I've been seeing him for the past two weeks, how come he hasn't tried to hurt me before?" He demanded.

"He's leading you into a false sense of security. He'll take you with him, one day, and you'll be forced to be his pet." Yellow said. Green didn't believe her.

"No, Red wouldn't do that!" He cried.

"You . . . know his name?" Yellow murmured. She turned to Red and glared at him, making Green whimper. She never glared.

Then he was shocked as Yellow snapped something to Red, in his own language. Red looked a bit confused, and looked like he was trying to explain something, but Yellow wasn't having it.

She growled at Red and said something else, then pointed off to the direction of the place where the brick dens were. Red looked down and nodded meekly. He stood and began walking away.

"Red!" Green shouted. Yellow grabbed his shoulder before he could run.

"He's not coming here anymore, Green." She said.

"W-why not?" Green asked, tears in his eyes. "Why?"

"I told him not to. I'm only looking out for you, Green." Yellow sighed. "Please, I'm sorry-"

"YOU'RE NOT SORRY!" Green cried. "YOU'RE NOT! HE WAS MY FRIEND!"

"Sweetie . . ."

"H-he was my f-friend . . ." Green sobbed, covering his face with his tiny hands. "R-Red . . ."

"Honey, come on, we need to go back." Yellow mumbled, picking him up gently. Green buried his face in her chest and clutched her leaf dress tightly.

"Red . . ." He whimpered.

**OOOOOO**

Red: You are the cruellest person I've ever met.

Renny: I know. Read, review and comment!


	3. Chapter 3

Renny: And now for more heartbreak!

Green: Cruellest. Person. _Ever_.

Renny: It's a given. Anyway, Red?

Red: I think you're cruel as well, but Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: Unfortunately. Otherwise the manga would be done my way, and Red and Green would kiss and make babies. On with the show!

**OOOOOO**

**-Forest, Hidden Grotto-**

Green curled up into a tiny ball on his mother's chest. He could feel her shallow breathing, as she rasped heavily in her sleep.

It had been a few weeks since Yellow had split him and Red up. Green never really forgave her for it, and hadn't tried to talk to her since that day. He hadn't spoken to anyone besides his sister or mother, really.

But over the past few weeks, Green's mother had been ill. At first she'd just had a small cough, nothing to worry about. But then she started vomiting, and suddenly she'd collapsed.

Now she was bedridden, and Green refused to leave her side, terrified of what might happen if he was gone.

The medic in the clan came to her at least four times a day, checking her over. Green couldn't understand most of the babble he said, but he wasn't naïve enough so that he didn't know something was wrong with his mommy.

Right now they were alone. Daisy had taken over as the leader of the clan, more or less, until Green's mother could take it over again. But everyone was acting like she never would.

Green didn't believe that. His mommy would bounce back, like she always did. Sometimes he couldn't help but think that the humans might be able to help. But then he thought of how Yellow reacted when he and Red were playing, and so he didn't mention it. If Yellow reacted like that to him being friends with a human, then he didn't want to find out how anyone would react to them helping out his mommy.

Besides, he didn't know how to ask the humans to help. So what was he meant to do?

Nothing. He couldn't do anything. According to the medic, he was getting in the way of his check-ups. According to his sister, he was hanging around his mother too much. According to Yellow, he wasn't thinking straight.

According to the clan, he wasn't good for anything but being a nuisance. Maybe if he could prove that he was helpful, they wouldn't be so nasty?

The tiny cat boy whimpered and clutched at his mother's leaf dress tightly. He could feel tears at his eyes.

"Please, don't go away . . ." He whispered to her. "Please, mommy . . ."

**oooo**

**-School-**

Red, sitting in the dinner hall with his little friend group, sighed. They were all gaping at him in total shock.

"You . . . actually . . ." Blue stopped herself and swallowed. "You became friends with a Hybrid? A cat Hybrid?"

"Yeah, so?" Red asked. "What's so shocking about that?"

"Dude, it's a cat Hybrid!" Gold exclaimed. "Only one of the rarest Hybrids out there! And you became friends with it!"

"He, not it, he." Red snapped. "His name's Green."

"How do you know?" Crystal asked.

"This other one, a dog Hybrid, came and sort of . . . split us up. She told me I wasn't allowed to see him anymore, and she called him by name as well, so I sort of put it together."

"Why'd she split you up?" Blue asked.

"Something about humans not being trustworthy, but I didn't really get it." Red shrugged. "But . . . it wasn't that that made me . . . sad."

"What was it?" Gold asked.

"It . . . it was the way Green called out. I couldn't understand him, but I knew he wanted me to come back . . . He sounded so sad . . ." Red murmured, looking out the window. "I wonder what's going on now . . ."

"He's probably forgotten all about you and moved on to other friends." Blue shrugged. Red glared at her. "What? You said he was like, five, so he would."

"Yeah, but you weren't there when he called out." Red snapped. He stood up. "I'm gonna go to the toilet, alright? Be right back."

He didn't look at their faces as he walked past, and quickly headed straight for the boys' toilets. As soon as he was in, Red sighed and went into one of the cubicles, then locked the door. He sank down and stared at the wall in front of him.

He'd only known Green for two weeks. It had been five since that dog Hybrid split them up, and only now Red was telling his friends. But he still couldn't stop thinking about Green.

And the stupid thing was, he never expected to actually remember the tiny Hybrid's name at all. But he still could.

Maybe what Blue said was right? Maybe Green had moved on already?

He seemed like the type to do that, but not in a bad way. Of course, he knew he should probably do the same, but Red knew it wouldn't be so easy.

A seven year old was more perceptive than a five year old, anyway.

Maybe he could hold onto a small hope that he and Green would meet up one day, in the future?

But Green was a Hybrid, a cat one for that matter. How long would it take for one of his friends to spill it out and then some adult finding the place where Green lived, if he did at all, and stealing him away?

Red shook his head. His friends would never tell anyone, and even if they did, the adults wouldn't ever go after Green or any other Hybrid in the forest just because he was a cat. Besides, Misty had said that the forest was protected.

But sometimes that didn't stop the adults, the greedy ones.

Red sighed again and stood up, unlocking the door and walking out. He blinked when he saw a couple of kids, older than him, talking about something in hushed voices, but he ignored them and went straight out to the dinner hall again.

Once he got to the table where his friends were and sat down, they all looked away guiltily.

"What's wrong?" Red asked.

"Um . . ." Crystal bit her lip, then went quiet.

"You see . . . these two kids, older than us, kinda heard us talking about Green when you went, and they asked us about the whole thing." Blue blurted out quickly. Red's eyes widened. "We didn't say anything, 'cus we knew you didn't want us to, so we tried to tell them a lie, but they didn't believe us. And then they went off and . . . What do we do?"

"I . . . I don't know." Those two kids in the toilets must have been the same ones. "We can't tell an adult, they'd just think we're lying or something."

"But we're not!" Gold exclaimed. "Why wouldn't they believe us?"

"Cat Hybrids are rare and extremely shy, no one would believe that Red made friends with one." Crystal murmured. "We can try and keep an eye on the two, but that's gonna be hard."

"What if they tell their parents?" Gold asked.

"Why would that matter?" Blue asked.

"Their parents work in a pet store, and that pet store sells Hybrid pets."

"How do you know?" Crystal blinked.

"That's where I got Silver from. Anyway, they might tell their parents, and then their parents might go out and catch Green and any other Hybrids, 'cus I heard that their shop was losing money or something." Gold said. "So having a cat Hybrid would help out a lot, wouldn't it?"

"We . . . We've gotta do something!" Red exclaimed. "Find a way to stop them from telling their parents!"

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Crystal murmured. "They're older than us, and stronger and bigger. That basically gives them the right to do anything they want."

Red sighed and slumped in his chair. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything, after all?

**oooo**

**-Forest, Hidden Grotto-**

He couldn't feel her soothing heartbeat anymore.

He couldn't hear her rasping breath, or feel her chest rise and fall like it usually did.

He couldn't hear the medic murmuring soft words about sprits and life after death.

He couldn't feel his sister's tight grip on his tiny, fragile body.

He couldn't hear the dull sounds that threatened to make him bleed tears.

He couldn't feel the pain in his chest.

All of a sudden everything went back to normal, but he'd changed.

"Green, sweetie, we need to get out of here and let the medic do his job." Daisy murmured, picking him up and slowly walking out. Green silently watched his mother get smaller as Daisy carried him away.

He didn't want to feel the coldness of her skin.

"Is he alright?" A member of the clan, a bird, asked.

"I don't know. He was with her when she died." Daisy replied. "And he just . . ."

"It's alright, he'll get better. And you will as well, honey." The bird said, smiling gently.

"I know. I've known this was gonna happen at some point, so I've always been ready, but Green . . ." Daisy's body shook.

"Honey, calm down." The bird whispered, hugging the two of them. The bird let Daisy go and gently took Green in her arms, smiling.

"Hello, little one." She said. "Are you ok?"

Green said nothing. Why should he? The whole clan hated him for one reason or other. He stared through the bird, ears flattened against his head, tail completely still. The bird gave him back to Daisy.

"He'll heal with time." She said, walking away to his mother's den.

"Green, come on, baby." Daisy murmured, cuddling him to her chest. Green didn't even clutch at her like he normally did.

He didn't want to.

"You'll be ok, won't you?" Daisy asked. He didn't respond to her.

He heard Daisy sigh and he almost burst into tears, but he'd been a nuisance already and he didn't want them to have another useless mouth to feed.

He would not be useless.

"Daisy, your mother's body is ready for the burial." A squirrel said. Daisy nodded, but Green just shut everything out.

A few minutes later, everyone was silently crying. Green knew his mother had been a very important and kind person, so of course they would cry. Daisy silently wept as well. He didn't.

As his mother's body was put into the ground, where his father's lay also, he stared with unblinking eyes.

That day, two spirits had died.

**oooo**

**-Red's house-**

"Mom, dad!" Red called. "I'm home!"

"In the kitchen, sweetie!"

Red grinned and dashed into the kitchen, discarding his school bag on the floor.

"Hi!" He cried. His mother smiled at him from the cooker, and his dad laughed.

"Hey there, kiddo." The man said as Red clampered up onto a chair. "Holidays are coming up soon, and that includes your birthday."

"Roji, you'll spoil his appetite." Red's mom laughed. Roji rolled his eyes and grinned at Red.

"I'll tell you after Tea, alright?"

Red groaned, but he nodded. He jumped off the chair and raced up to his room and grabbed his Gameboy, then turned it on.

The game inside, pokemon blue, came onto the screen as always. Red grinned, happy to see his digital friends again.

His team, Poli the Poliwrath (powerhouse), Pika the Pikachu (to cute and awesome to evolve), Saur the Venasaur (the starter), Gyara the Gyarados (raised from a Magikarp), Lax the Snorlax (friggin' tank) and Aero the Aerodactyl (the flier), had helped him in numerous occasions and events during the game.

He knew they weren't real, but he still loved them like they actually were alive and breathing in front of him. His parents had gotten him the game ages ago, and normally some kids would have deleted the file and started again, but Red didn't want to.

After playing for a while, and getting a few more new pokemon on the game, his mother called him down for Tea. He quickly saved the game and placed it on his desk, then dashed down the stairs.

He still wanted to know what his dad was gonna say.

Red clampered back onto the chair and grinned as his mother placed the plate in front of him, and quickly got busy eating.

Once he'd done, he put the plate into the sink to be washed later and ran into the living room, sitting on the sofa to wait for his dad to finish as well.

"C'mon, c'mon . . ." He muttered impatiently. He was glad when both of his parents walked in and sat down.

"Alright, do you wanna know what I was on about before?" Roji smiled. Red, bouncing up and down happily, nodded. "Alright then. You know the pet store on the other side of the town?"

Red nodded again.

"Well, they're gonna be getting a new batch of pets, a few Hybrids, in during the summer. We thought we could go out and get one for you." Red's mother said.

"R-really? Oh cool, yeah!" Red grinned. "So, anything right?"

"Yep."

"No matter how expensive?"

"Well, so long as it's only one pet, then yes." Roji nodded. Red cheered happily.

"Yeah! Thanks!" He cried.

He'd forgotten all about the problem at school.

**oooo**

**-A few weeks later, near the end of summer term-**

"Aw, I still can't believe you're gonna get a pet for your birthday." Blue, sitting next to him in their homeroom, moaned.

"I guess I'm just lucky." Red smirked.

"Dang it, the closest I got is Turtley." Blue murmured. Turtley was her pet sea turtle, and he was getting bigger each time Red saw him.

"You kidding?" Gold laughed from in front of them. He turned around and grinned. "I'd kill for a sea turtle. Beats having Mr Boring Silver."

"But now that's gonna be two people who'll have a pet Hybrid!" Blue moaned. "And most likely the one Red gets is gonna be like Silver. They all are, from what Alexis told me."

"I sure hope not. If he or she is, maybe I can teach them fun?" Red grinned. "It'll be awesome!"

"You're lucky . . ." Blue grumbled.

**oooo**

**-Forest, Hidden Grotto-**

Green silently brought in another batch of leaves for the new-borns. There were three of them, two twins and the other belonging to a different mother. He sort of felt sorry for them, being born into this world.

But at least they had both parents to help. Daisy and Yellow hadn't given up on trying to make him happy again, but he ignored all their efforts.

If he'd bothered to ask anyone, they would have said it was scary how fast he'd changed in the course of a few days, weeks even. He knew that he'd not said a single word or made a single sound since his mommy died.

Yes, he knew she was dead, and his dad as well. He wasn't stupid anymore. Looking over the world? Why would any want to do that from the sky?

His parents were dead and he was an orphan.

That's what some of the clan whispered when they thought he couldn't hear them.

Green ignored them all. He didn't care anymore. The five year old gave the leaves to one of the medic's helpers and slinked off somewhere, to watch the clan go about their daily lives.

Daisy was now the leader of the clan, with Yellow acting as her supervisor and advisor. The medic was busier, a lot of their clan had come down with flu, but luckily it wasn't contagious anymore.

The medic had then asked some of the older clan members to become his assistants. Green didn't really care much.

The middle aged clan members hunted for the younger and older ones, and the younger ones gathered leaves and berries.

Green just did whatever he wanted, unless he wanted to help out. The clan left him alone, no longer calling him useless, because when he did help out, he always got the biggest haul.

He sat in a small corner near the edge of the clearing they had made their home in, the Hidden Grotto it was called, and curled up. His tail didn't move like it would have before. It had stopped moving altogether and just hung limply.

The medic had said it had something to do with his emotions. His tail wasn't responding, and was basically useless to anyone, and that reflected his own emotions. After hearing that Daisy and Yellow tried to help him 'get better', but there was nothing wrong with him.

But he knew he couldn't use his tail anymore. It grew, yes, but it was about as useful as his hair. His ears seemed permanently flattened to his head, as some of the clan had said.

He didn't care.

The tiny kitten looked up as a rustling sound was heard. Apparently no one else was out at the moment, because it made the rest of the clan be still and silent as well.

There was something wrong.

And then the sticks started firing. A few of the clan were hit and went down, not moving, and Green was reminded of how his mommy had laid there, dead. But she didn't bleed. He flattened himself against the corner as best he could, watching with dulled fear as humans with sticks and bendy items dashed into the clearing.

He saw his sister, trying to order a few of the clan to protect the younger ones, but everyone was too afraid.

"Get away from here!" Daisy screamed at the humans. "Go away!"

They couldn't understand her. One of them, a man, grabbed Daisy and looked her over. Then he shook his head and said something to his friends.

Another, a woman, raised her own stick above Daisy's head. Green's eyes widened and he dashed forward.

His tail had no problem responding now.

He screeched as he launched himself onto the man holding his sister, clawing at his eyes and biting his shoulder.

Daisy was dropped to the ground as the man tried to get Green away from him.

"Run, everyone!" Daisy screamed. "Green, come on!"

Green hissed loudly at the human and pounced off him, dashing away with his sister. Yellow met them halfway and ran with them.

But then a terrified choke stopped him.

"No . . ." Yellow gasped, her hands on her mouth. Green froze, stood, and turned around.

His sister, Daisy, lay on the ground with a stick inside of her. The humans started cheering and walked over to the two frozen animals.

Yellow snapped something in their tongue, and put herself in front of Green. The humans said something back, looking like they'd seen Yellow before. Yellow snarled at them, shouting something back.

Green never noticed it before, but Yellow had line-like scars on her arms and going onto her back.

Green's tail became useless again.

The humans laughed and grabbed Yellow, who bit them as hard as she could, but they didn't seem fazed. Yellow turned to Green, eyes pleading him to run, but his legs refused to move.

The humans laughed and reached for the tiny kitten, who was paralysed with terror.

**OOOOOO**

Renny: OH LOOK A CLIFFY.

Red: You sadistic little-

Renny: Hush, boy.

Green: WHY DO YOU HURT ME SO MUCH?

Renny: Because you're my favourite character, and I torture my favourite character.

Green: So, if Red was your favourite character . . .?

Renny: It'd be him being tortured, not you.

Red: Oh, well that's a nice reassurance.

Renny: It is, ain't it? Read, review and comment!


	4. Chapter 4

Renny: And now for a whole chapter of torturing Green.

Green: I hate you so much right now.

Renny: Don't. My internet's screwed up and I can' figure out what's wrong, so don't piss me off, you whiny little kitten thing.

Green: 0.0

Renny: I don't own pokemon, on with the show.

**OOOOOO**

**-Somewhere unknown, dark and cold-**

The humans threw him into a cold and metallic thing, then crashed some strange looking bar things on it. Green tried shaking them to get out, but the bar things didn't budge.

"That's called a cage, and humans put us in them so we don't escape." A voice grumbled. Green squeaked and looked to his right, where another 'cage' was.

A bird was looking out at him, hands on his face and wings sort of tied up loosely.

"They won't spare you just 'cus you're young." He huffed. "I've seen two year olds go through their so called 'treatment'."

Green titled his head.

"What, you mute or something? Whatever. The treatment is where the humans discipline us Hybrids, teach us to speak their language, and teach us obedience. No one gets spared, kid, not even you." The bird snorted. "So don't think for one second that they'll leave you alone for a few years or something, because in three weeks you'll be speaking full human and you'll be obeying whoever buys you from this stupid shop."

Green looked at the grey floor. Humans did this to Hybrids? Wait, what was a Hybrid?

"You wanna know what a Hybrid is, don't you?" The bird sighed when he looked up. Green nodded slightly. "That's what humans call us, you know, half animals half human. I'm a bird Hybrid, one of the more common ones. I see you're a cat, so you'll more likely be sold quicker and for more than the rest of us."

The tiny . . . Hybrid looked at the floor again. So, Red would have done the same if he'd been older? This was why Yellow had split them up? If that was the case, Green had to find her and say sorry. He looked around, hoping to find a cage with her in it or something, but it was too dark to see anything but the empty cage to his left and the bird to his right.

"There's others here, a few more came in with you." The bird sighed. "A dog, a squirrel and a rat. The rat didn't last long, she got killed by the whip as soon as it landed on her."

Green looked up again. Whip?

"Whip, you know, long, bendy stick thing?"

Ah, so that was what Yellow had described to him then.

"Anyway, the dog's kinda doing the treatment now, but all she needs is obedience. Seems she already knows human." The bird said. Green blinked. Yellow knew human and she was a dog, so maybe that was her?

"The cage to your left, that's hers." The bird pointed with a scarred hand. Green nodded and looked around again.

"Kid, I'm gonna try and go easy since you're probably traumatised or something, so I'll say it like this. Whoever ends up buying you will treat you like a toy, a rare one. So be careful, and try to learn human as fast as you can, and try to obey, unless you wanna get whipped." The bird told him. Green squeaked slightly and pressed himself to the ground.

Humans were scary, now.

"Humans are really bad people. The younger ones might not seem bad, but once they grow up they become just like the rest."

Yellow hadn't been lying, and she'd split him and Red up for a good reason.

He listened to the bird ramble about random things, about how he could survive in the shop, and other things, for a while. A few minutes later the humans came back with a blonde haired dog in the hands, and then threw her into the cage next to Green's.

"Hey, Yellow!" The bird grinned. "Back again?"

"Tamo, shut up." Yellow sighed, sitting up. She noticed Green and her eyes widened. "No . . . Not you too!"

"What, this kid yours?" Tamo asked.

"No, someone else's. I'm sort of responsible for him." Yellow murmured. "Green, have the humans done anything to you?"

"Not yet, they only threw him in a few minutes ago." Tamo huffed. "Nice conversation we had."

"Oh hush, he's only a child." Yellow frowned.

"Yeah, and he should be asking me stuff like a kid would."

"His parents are dead."

"Oh."

Yellow sighed and looked down at Green.

"Are you alright?" She mumbled. Green nodded and looked up at her, holding back tears.

"I'm s-sorry . . ." He whispered. "Y-you saved me f-from Red, a-and I . . ."

"It's alright, honey." Yellow smiled. She reached forward and gently patted Green on the head. "Just don't go silent ever again. You'll need your voice here, anyway."

Green nodded and looked around again. "Were . . ." He coughed. "Were you here before?" Yellow glanced away from him.

"Y-yes . . . They caught me a few years ago. That's how I know human." Yellow murmured.

"And why you have scars . . .?"

"You saw them?"

"You were in front of me . . ."

"Oh, y-yes, I do . . ."

"Is it from the whip?"

"How do you- Tamo!"

"What? He deserves to know before the humans can teach him." Tamo shrugged. "That way he won't be so scared."

"He's only a child!" Yellow cried again.

"He won't be spared. You know what happened to the last kid." Tamo said. "And that rat lady."

"I know, I know." Yellow muttered. "Green, I'm so sorry this happened . . ."

"Not your fault, Yellow . . ." Green mumbled, curling up on the floor. "Mine . . . If I hadn't followed Red none of this would have happened."

"Green, sweetie, you can't blame yourself. Five is a curious age, of course you'd follow him. You can't just say things like that." Yellow whispered, patting him softly. "We'll take care of you, _right Tamo_?"

"U-uh, yeah, sure!" Tamo stammered. "Gonna look after you, right!"

Green felt his tail swish a little. His ears twitched and he glanced back at his tail, which was trying to move. It stopped and fell limp, and he sighed.

"Green? Is your tail still acting up?" Yellow asked.

"Tail?" Tamo blinked. "What's wrong with- Oh. I see . . ."

"Hm." Yellow murmured. Green looked up at her.

"It'll get back to the way it was before, right?"

"I . . . I don't know, to be honest." Yellow sighed, looking away again. "It might or might not. It depends on how you adapt to the treatment the humans give us."

"Will they feed us? And give us water?" Green asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Yes but . . . not very often, I'm afraid."

Green looked at the floor and rested his head on his arms. He felt the ground shift a little, and he looked up as a human came up to his cage and opened it.

Yellow said something to the human, but he ignored her and made a grab for Green, who backed away from him. The human seemed frustrated, and he reached right into the cage and grabbed Green by the tail, and dragged him out.

"Yellow, help!" He yelped. The human, still carrying him by the tail, picked him up into the air. Yellow snapped something and the human barked something back, which made Yellow shrink away from him.

"G-Green, when you come back, we'll be here for you, I promise!" Yellow shouted as he was taken away. Green meowed pitifully as the human took him into a bare, grey place which was large, compared to him. There were two other humans in there, one of them holding a bendy stick.

A whip.

He whimpered as he was thrown onto the floor, and a man with cold eyes and a black outfit on walked forward, then leaned down and looked at Green with his cold, dead eyes.

"Can you speak any human at all, Hybrid?" The man asked. Green was shocked. He thought humans couldn't understand let alone speak his language!

"Hybrid, I was taught by some of the Hybrids around here. So, allow me to ask again, do you speak human?" The man snapped. Green whimpered.

"R-Red." He squeaked.

"One word, and that's all?" The man asked. Green nodded. "I'll have to help out with your wording then. But first, your obedience."

The man stood and said something to another man, smaller and thinner but somehow looking more evil and sadistic. The second man smirked and made the whip attack Green, but it missed him by inches.

"You will do as I say, otherwise Koga here will whip you until you do so, understand Hybrid?" The man said. Koga, the man with the whip, laughed.

"O-ok . . ." Green squeaked.

"Good kitten." The man said. "Now, I want you to attack me."

Green's eyes widened.

"Do it. You had no qualms about attacking Surge here, so attack me."

Green looked at the man who the first man pointed to, Surge. He didn't really remember who he'd attacked, all he cared about was his sister.

His dead sister.

Green whimpered and backed away, shaking his head.

"Attack me, Hybrid." The man snarled. "Or else."

"I-I can't . . . Y-you're too big . . ." Green mumbled. The man's eyes narrowed, and he said something to Koga, who grinned and lifted the whip up.

"W-wait!" Green cried. The man stopped Koga and looked at him. "O-ok, but please don't hurt me . . ."

"No promises." The man said. Green swallowed and got onto all fours like he'd been taught, and sized up the man. He was large, towering over Green even if he jumped as high as he could. But there had to be a weakness somewhere.

Green narrowed his eyes and pounced. His teeth bared, he tried to bite into the man's clothing, but the man dodged out of the way and let him crash uselessly onto the ground.

"Pathetic. Try again, Hybrid." The man said.

Green huffed and pounced faster, hoping to catch the man off-guard. But he still managed to move away in time.

Green stood on all fours again, then moved into a more defensive position. He flattened his ears completely and got ready, then dashed forward.

Just as he expected, the man dodged again, but this time Green simultaneously bounced again and hit him on the shoulder. Green bounced off and rolled onto the floor, then looked up.

"Very good." The man said. "Your reward is extra food tonight. When you do something right, you get more food, but when you do something wrong . . ."

Koga crashed the whip near Green again, who flinched and backed away.

"R-right . . ." The five year old whispered. Then the man walked over and picked him up, and sat down.

"Now, I'll teach you some human for a while, and then you can go back, understand?" He said. Green nodded slightly.

"Now, you're meanings are different to human meaning, so we'll need to do it all like this . . ."

Green listened carefully to the man, and even managed to repeat some of the words he said in human perfectly. By the end of it, Green hadn't been hurt at all, and he'd found out the man was called Giovanni.

He seemed nice, but Yellow and Tamo had scars from the whip. Maybe the nice act was to make deceive him? Green would have to be more careful.

Giovanni put him back into his cage after a while, and Yellow and Tamo were on him like hawks.

"What happened, sweetie? Did they hurt you?" Yellow asked. Green shook his head.

"They threatened to, but they didn't. Giovanni made me attack him and he taught me a bit of human . . ." Green murmured. Yellow looked down.

"He does that, the first time you see him. Then he'll start getting more and more distanced, and he'll eventually just teach you because he has to. And the whole obedience thing . . . he's waiting for a mistake so he can make Koga whip you." Tamo muttered. Yellow glared at him, but the bird didn't seem like he'd seen it.

"He i-is?" Green squeaked. He felt Yellow pat him gently.

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry. We'll help." Yellow murmured. "Both Tamo and I can teach you more human, so he won't have to take you in as often."

Green nodded slightly, then started listening as they described words and other things, and made him repeat them as best he could.

**oooo**

**-A few days later-**

Yellow had said that Green was a fast learner at one point. He was, apparently. Now it was even more obvious because he was almost fully speaking human, with the exception of a few words he couldn't get down.

So far the whip hadn't touched him at all during the obedience lessons, so everything was going fine.

"Faster!" Giovanni commanded in human. Green was made to run on a strange grey thing that forced you to run as fast as you could. Giovanni was making him run on all fours.

"I can't!" Green cried, in human. "I-I can't!"

"Yes you can. I know a cat can go quicker than that, so speed up!" Giovanni snapped.

Koga and Surge snickered behind him, and Green heard Koga's whip crack against the floor. That made him speed up a little, but it only lasted a little while.

The boy collapsed and was almost flung off the grey thing, but Giovanni caught him by the tail and set him on the floor as he panted heavily.

"Is that the best you can do?" Giovanni demanded, shutting of the strange grey thing. Green nodded slightly.

"Pathetic." He barked. Green flinched and looked away.

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm too small . . . I-if I were older I would have-"

"Silence!" Giovanni shouted. Green flinched away, not making eye contact.

"Koga, whip him." Giovanni said. Green's eyes widened.

"W-why? I haven't done anything wrong!" He cried, trying to back away as Koga walked up to him slowly.

"You didn't satisfy me, that's what you did wrong." Giovanni said. "Koga."

"Yes sir." The man smirked, a horrid glint in his eyes. Green whimpered as Koga raised the whip, and pressed up into the wall. The whip made a cracking sound as it crashed onto the floor next to Green.

The boy looked up, confused, when it suddenly came right onto his head. He screamed and tried to cover himself, but Koga whipped him a few more times, making Green cry out louder each time.

"Enough." Giovanni said. Koga, thankfully, stopped his onslaught and backed away from the sobbing Hybrid. Green looked up at Giovanni as he crouched down, and then cried out in pain when the man grabbed his head and pressed onto the wound on it.

"You understand now? Just because I was nice to you a few days ago doesn't mean that I won't punish you for being disobedient." Giovanni snapped.

"I-I wasn't, I-I just c-couldn't carry o-on . . ." Green cried. Giovanni growled, and then suddenly he stood up and backed away.

"Again." He said. Green looked up at him in horror. Wasn't one time enough?

But Koga didn't seem to care as he brought down the whip again and again.

"Stop, please!" Green screeched, trying and failing to cover himself up. Koga didn't stop.

After a few more whips, Giovanni stopped him. Green, hurt and bleeding from more than one place necessary, sobbed and looked up at him with terrified eyes. The man crouched down one more time and stared at him.

"Will you obey me, now?" He murmured. Green nodded and whimpered when the man reached out, recoiling. Giovanni didn't hit him, only rubbing a smaller wound gently. "Good kitten."

Green whimpered pathetically as the man grabbed him by the tail again, and dragged him out of the room.

Yellow and Tamo seemed to be in shock, as Giovanni threw in back into the cage and locked it, then walked away.

"G-Green, are you alright?" Yellow whispered. Green didn't answer her. He was too tired. He curled up, trying to ignore the stinging and tears, and breathed out in broken gasps.

"Kid . . .?" Tamo asked quietly. He heard the bird tap his cage lightly.

"I-I w-wanna goh-go ho-home . . ." Green whimpered.

"Sweetie . . ." Yellow murmured.

"M-mom-mommy . . ."

**OOOOOO**

Renny: This one's a bit shorter than the rest, but it still gets a point across. Does it need a warning for abuse or something? Violence?

Red: I dunno, does it?

Renny: Maybe, but I'll just wait until someone figures it out so I can put one up. Until then no one has to click the blue button.

Green: The blue what?

Renny: Button. Read, review and comment!


	5. Chapter 5

Renny: Yay, more Green torture!

Green: I HATE YOU.

Red: Um, Renny doesn't own pokemon?

Renny: Yeah, let's hurry up before the kitten kills us all.

Green: *hiss*

Renny: Sucker. Warning for abuse of Green again lol~ On with the show!

**OOOOOO**

**-'Shop', two days later-**

Green curled up, wincing when the wounds (not even healed properly) stung him like the bees back in the forest.

The tiny Hybrid looked up, an ear flicking weakly, for Yellow. She'd been taken in by the humans a while ago, and hadn't come back yet.

Tamo was still there, but he was snoring. Green ignored him and looked around again.

Yellow had been gone for far too long. Normally the 'treatment' would last only a little while or a bit more, but never this long.

What were the humans doing to her?

"T-Tamo . . ." Green whispered. The bird snorted and screwed his eyes up, then opened them wearily.

"Yeah, what?" He yawned.

"Y-Yellow been gone a long time . . ."

"How long?"

"A really long time . . ."

Tamo snapped awake and bolted upright, seemingly shocked.

"What!? Humans never do that! She should be back by now, at least . . ." Tamo murmured. He leaned back against his cage and hummed.

"We have to do something!" Green whisper-yelled.

"We can't, the humans made sure of that." Tamo growled.

Green pressed himself into the floor, shaking.

"W-what they gonna d-do to her?" He whimpered.

"I don't know, kid. I'm sorry."

The tiny cat Hybrid hiccupped quietly and squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them again and looked out the cage, into the darkness.

"Yellow . . ." He whispered.

**oooo**

**-The room-**

Yellow shakily stood once more. Giovanni wouldn't want her to stay down.

She panted a few times, before she stood fully and faced the large male. Humans were generally larger than Hybrids were, almost a foot between two adults of the species.

If Green knew he'd probably say it wasn't even fair.

She almost smiled before remembering who she was with.

"Good girl." Giovanni said. "Now, what do you do when your master wants something?"

"D-do as they w-wish of me." Yellow grunted.

"Good." Giovanni said. "Now, are you going to disobey again?"

"N-no."

"No . . .?"

"Master."

Giovanni nodded, finally satisfied. He told Koga to put the whip away, and then walked over to Yellow. He picked her up by her hair and threw her down again. She bit back her cry of pain.

"Now then, I understand you escaped from here once before, yes?"

"Yes." Yellow mumbled. She didn't look at him.

"The security system failed that day and all Hybrids we owned escaped into the forest. Imagine our luck when we found you, along with an entire clan of Hybrids, out in the forest." Giovanni sneered.

" . . ." Yellow looked away.

"Now then, as you know, we've already killed the other two escapees. You're the only one left."

Yellow's body shook as Giovanni walked around her.

"What do you think of that, dog?"

"If you were planning to kill me, why not do it as soon as possible, like the others?" Yellow murmured.

"Because we wanted the boy, the _cat_." Giovanni snapped, stopping in front of her. "But we couldn't have done anything with him unless you were there to help him."

The man grabbed her chin and forced the dog to look at him.

"Imagine his horror if we bring him your cold, dead body. That would break him, correct?"

"Leave him alone!" Yellow shouted. "He's done nothing!"

"Ah, my dear Hybrid, that is where you're wrong." Giovanni growled. He slapped Yellow around the face and stood, pacing.

"How so?" Yellow asked quietly. Asking questions was probably going to get her killed anyway, but she had to know everything.

"That boy is a cat. Cats are the rarest Hybrid of all." Giovanni stopped pacing. "And if you must know, it was a cat that ruined us before."

Yellow tensed.

"You know who he is, dog." Giovanni said.

" . . . I do. But what does he have to do with Green?" Yellow asked. She already knew the answer.

"You know very well!" Giovanni shouted. He spun around and glared at her, full force. "You know who that boy's father is, you know exactly who! He brought ruin to my life!"

"I'm not really sorry, it was pathetic anyway." Yellow spat.

"Hybrid filth!" Giovanni roared. "Koga, don't stop until she begs for mercy."

The sadistic man, otherwise known as Koga, grinned and stepped forward.

"This is going to be fun." He cackled, raising the whip. "Hold still."

As soon as the whip came into contact with her body, Yellow screamed. The marks from the previous whipping still hurt like fire, and these new ones would only add to the pain.

The dog Hybrid scrambled away, wincing as her tail was whipped roughly instead of her body.

"What do you want from me!?" Yellow shouted. Giovanni snarled at her and stopped Koga, lifting the Hybrid up by her neck.

"I want to know what happened to him." The man hissed.

"If you wanna kill him for revenge, you're a bit late."

"Silence!" Giovanni roared again. He threw her down and started pacing.

"I need to do something about that cat. He'll start an uprising soon . . ." He muttered.

"Unlikely." Yellow muttered. "He's five and traumatised, I don't see how-"

"BE QUIET, HYRBID!" Giovanni screeched. He flew forwards and gripped Yellow's leaf clothing tightly. "YOU DON'T SAY WORDS LIKE THAT IN MY PRESENCE!"

She chocked and fell backwards as he suddenly let her go, walking out of the room.

"Well, he's pissed off." Surge chuckled.

"Yep. Maybe he's gonna find a new torture thing for us?" Koga suggested.

"I wish."

As soon as Yellow heard the whimpers, she knew exactly what he was planning. She struggled to her feet and backed away, as Giovanni dragged Green into the room without any sympathy for his whip wounds whatsoever.

"Y-Yellow!" Green cried. He'd pretty much forgotten Hybran by now.

"Green . . ." Yellow murmured, feeling light-headed all of a sudden.

"Tell me what I want to know." Giovanni ordered, snatching the whip off Koga. He shoved Green to Surge, who held the tiny Hybrid so he wouldn't get away.

"He lived a good life, and he died honourably." Yellow said. "There's no reason for you to hate him just because he took down your organisation."

"Yes, there is." Giovanni snapped. He cracked the whip, and Yellow and Green flinched. "His son is right here, and by making sure he's broken, he won't start an uprising of his own, no matter how young he may be."

"You're insane-"

"And you are a low-life _dog_ with no sense of morality." Giovanni said.

"Even Green has more morality that you do." Yellow breathed.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes, and then held up the whip. Green mewled and cried out when Yellow looked over at him, smiling sadly.

"Green, don't forget, please." She said to him. "I love you, and so do your parents, and your sister. Tamo can take care of y- AAAGH!"

"YELLOW!" Green screamed. Surge held him tight as Yellow was whipped and whipped, over and over again.

The dog Hybrid collapsed onto the floor a few minutes later, bloody and hurt. Giovanni hit her a few more times, before her pained whines stopped altogether.

**oooo**

"Yellow . . .?" Green squeaked. Surge let him down, and Green raced over to her body, avoiding Giovanni's whip.

He shook her, but got no response.

"Yellow!" Green yelped. "No playing . . ."

"She isn't playing, you ungrateful little brat." Giovanni barked, grabbing his tail and yanking him away from Yellow's unmoving body.

"Yellow!"

"Shut up."

"B-but Yellow needs help!" Green cried.

Giovanni snarled and threw him down, then cracked the whip onto his back, drawing a scream of pain.

"Get the scissors." The man ordered. Koga nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Green to wonder what 'the scissors' were.

Koga came back in a few seconds later with some sharp-looking needle-things. Giovanni took them and grabbed Green's hair.

"M-mommy . . ." Green whimpered, glancing over at Yellow's body again. Then he felt a gentle tug, and then a violent yank. Suddenly Green felt a chill. Giovanni held up some matted hair, and then the tiny Hybrid realised it was his own. He felt it, from the bottom parts, and felt it only came up as jagged ends near to his neck.

"There, now we don't have that in the way, and your hair is easier to groom. You can groom your own hair, yes?" Giovanni asked. Green whimpered and backed away, shaking his head.

He didn't even know what 'groom' meant. Giovanni sighed irritably and walked out. He returned with a small stick-thing with some spines on it, and then grabbed Green. The Hybrid didn't make a sound, and let Giovanni tug his hair hurtfully.

By the end of it, Green's head was hurting, he had tears in his eyes, and his hair was messed up even worse than before. Giovanni threw him to Yellow's body, and he crawled over, whimpering at her to wake up. She didn't respond.

"Yellow . . ." Green whispered. The three men watched from a distance. Green flattened his ears down and gently pawed Yellow's face until she was looking at him.

Her eyes were blank. Green mewled loudly and backed away, tearing up.

"This is what happens when you disobey your master." Giovanni called, walking up and grabbing Green again. The cat didn't make a sound.

"Will you disobey your new master?"

Green nodded.

"Will you keep yourself clean for them, and not cause trouble?"

He nodded again.

"Then you don't need any more of this. Take him to his cage and limit his food to once every two days, and water every four days." Giovanni ordered, handing Green roughly to Surge, who laughed loudly and hauled Green off.

**oooo**

**-A few weeks later, the pet shop-**

"Can I get a dog Hybrid?" Red asked, glancing around at the cages for normal hamsters.

"If you want." His mother chuckled. Roji was chatting with the man up front, and Red's mother was walking around and trying to find some stuff for whatever pet Red wanted. The newly turned eight year old grinned and went straight to the back, where most pet shops kept Hybrids.

Several older ones looked out at him, and he looked back curiously. One was a bird with scars all over his face, and as soon as he saw Red the bird's eyes widened. Red blinked. The bird frowned, and pointed to a cage next door to his.

Red glanced in it and saw nothing but a tiny shape huddled at the back of the cage. He looked back at the bird, who nodded, and then he looked at the label. This one was a cat Hybrid, and young as well. Red made a small noise in the back of his throat and looked at the tiny shape again.

"Hey, come on out." He whispered. The cat sort of moved but didn't come into the light. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

The cat mewled weakly. Red recognised that mewl somehow. He just didn't know how.

"Come on, come on . . . That's it." Something about this little display was familiar as well.

It clicked as soon as the Hybrid crawled into the light. Green, the Hybrid from the forest, mewled again and laid down, his ears flat on his head, and his eyes dull and heavy. His fluffy tail, which usually flittered around here and there, was unnaturally still.

"G-Green . . ." Red chocked. "Oh no . . . T-they got you?"

"You know him, right?" The bird muttered. Red nodded. "He told me about you before Yellow was killed."

"Who's Yellow?" Red asked.

"The yellow eyed dog that was his caretaker."

The dog from the forest, the one who'd told Red to leave Green alone to start off with. That was Yellow. And she was dead.

"Oh, Green, I'm so sorry . . ." Red whispered.

"You know, if you want a pet, take him." The bird said. "He's already been here way too long."

"What about you?" Red asked, turning to him.

"Eh, some old bat'll take me in at some point, so I wouldn't worry too much. Take him before some sick twit does, alright? And don't say that I told you to."

"Ok then." Red nodded, biting his lip a bit. He looked at Green one last time before calling his mother over.

"You found one?" She asked, walking over and crouching down. The bird waved to her, and she waved back briefly before paying attention to Red again.

"Yeah. Him." Red put a hand on Green's cage, and the tiny Hybrid's hand reached up for a second, but then retracted.

"Are you sure? I hear that cat Hybrid's are hard to have as pets." Red's mom murmured.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Please mom?" Red begged.

"Alright, alright. I'll go and see what I can do."

Red grinned as she walked away. He turned his attention back to Green and the bird.

"What's your name?" Red asked him.

"Tamo. You?"

"Red. Nice to meet you, Mr. Tamo." Red nodded. "Um, is Green . . . i-is he ok?"

" . . . You want the truth, or not?" Tamo asked quietly.

"Truth." Red said, slightly worried.

"He isn't. He probably won't ever be. The humans that caught him killed off the rest of his family, and from what Yellow said, he's basically the only living member." Tamo muttered.

"Oh, you poor thing . . ." Red whispered, putting his hands on the cage bars again and looking into Green's dead eyes. The kitten sat up and glanced at his tail, which twitched slightly.

"There's something wrong with it." Tamo explained. "It isn't working right, so I was thinking, maybe you could help."

"I'll do my best." Red nodded.

"Well, we'd better get him out then." Roji chuckled as he walked up. Tamo quickly went back to ignoring Red, and the eight year old stood up as the shop person unlocked the cage. Green shrank away from the man, whimpering pitifully.

"Get out." The man snapped. Green curled up and mewled in fear.

"Can I try?" Red asked. The man looked up and sighed.

"Fine."

Red crouched down when the man backed off, and smiled softly.

"It's ok, I'm getting you out of here." He murmured, holding out a hand. Green stared at him with wide eyes, shaking like a leaf.

"I just wanna help." Red said. "Come on, it's ok."

Eventually Green was standing next to Red, and then he could truly see just how tiny the Hybrid was. Green barely came up to Red's chest, and he looked thinner than before from the way the leaf clothes hung off his frame. His hair was chopped unevenly as well.

Red's mother paid for Green and the stuff they'd need for him, and soon they were in the car and going back home. Green was looking around the car with wide eyes, shaking even more.

"It's called a car." Red quietly explained. "People use them to go to places."

"C-car . . .?" Green whispered. Red nodded.

"Yeah, car. Oh, uh, you don't have your seatbelt on." Red reached over for the cat, but he started wailing loudly when Red tried to put it on him.

Roji had to stop the car.

"What's wrong with him?" Red's mom asked. "Red, what did you do?"

"N-nothing!" Red cried. "I was trying to put his seatbelt on!"

"He obviously doesn't like it." Red's mother mumbled softly. "I wonder what those people did to him in that shop."

"Shh, it's ok Green." Red said, putting away the seatbelt. "See? It's gone, no more seatbelts."

"Did you just call him Green?" Roji blinked.

Well, he needs a name right?" Red decided not to mention how he'd gotten the name.

"He's got a point." Red's mom shrugged.

"Lacey, you always take his side." Roji grumped. He started the car again and they were back off on the road.

"So, are you ok?" Red asked Green.

"Red, you're his master now, you don't ask things of him, you demand." Lacey said.

"I'm not making him do anything he doesn't wanna do." Red huffed. "What's the point in free will if he can't have it, just because he's a Hybrid?"

"He's got a point there." Roji teased.

"This conversation does not concern you. Shut up and drive."

"Yes Ma'am."

"I'm not forcing him to answer." Red said.

"I know, but you have to understand, he's your pet." Lacey sighed. "That means you can."

"I can, but I won't." Red said, stubbornly crossing his arms. "And if I wanna, I'll teach him to read and stuff."

"Just leave him be, Lacey." Roji laughed. "It'd be a good experience. Teach him some responsibility."

"Oh fine." Lacey muttered. "Why do I feel like we adopted a baby brother instead of buying a pet?"

"Red's got that vibe." Roji said.

The boy in the back paid no attention to them, and spoke softly to Green, who was watching the world pass by with wide, frightened eyes.

**OOOOOO**

Renny: That took forever.

Green: Yay.

Renny: Read, review and comment!


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